Role of religion, spirituality, and faith in assisted reproduction

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the patient’s faith, religion, and spirituality on the outcomes of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles.

Materials and methods: Eight hundred and seventy-seven patients received a questionnaire containing information on faith, religiosity, and spirituality and the results of the questionnaires were correlated with ICSI outcomes. Patients stated to be Catholic (n = 476), spiritists (n = 93), Evangelical (n = 118), and other religion (n = 32), and 78 did not identify with any religious group.

Results: A significant increase in fertilization, high-quality embryos, and pregnancy rate was found among Spiritists and Evangelicals. Patients who included the infertility diagnosis and treatment in their prayers showed an increased pregnancy rate, and those who reported their faith to be affected by the infertility diagnosis presented a decreased high-quality embryos rate. The high-quality embryos rate was increased among patients who answered that their faith contributed to their decision to undergo infertility treatment. The cycle’s cancelation was negatively correlated with the frequency of religious meetings, and the frequency of prayers was positively correlated with the response to ovarian stimulation. Finally, belief in treatment success positively influenced the embryo quality.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that spirituality plays a role in adjusting the psychological aspects of an infertile patient.

Keywords:

• Faith
• spirituality
• assisted reproduction
• psychological stress

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Current knowledge on this subject

1. It has been demonstrated that both the diagnosis of infertility and the infertility treatment are highly stressful. In addition, there is a growing evidence suggesting that religious involvement helps to reduce psychological stress and increase social support, then it may help to buffer the negative effects of stress on physical health.

What this study adds

1. There is a relationship between a patient’s religion, spirituality and faith on infertility treatment outcomes, therefore assisted reproduction technologies professionals should be aware of the use of these strategies as adjunct therapies.